100 Very Best Restaurants 2017: Bantam King

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Haikan, a new ramen shop from the Daikaya and Bantam King team, opens in Shaw. Photography by Jeff Elkins

When the ramen trend hit Washington, the city was awash in ultra-porky tonkotsu soups. Now there’s a wealth of styles, and one of the best is Bantam’s “chicken ramen.” The Daikaya team set up shop in a tiny, Technicolor former Burger King in Chinatown, and it dishes up comforting chicken-noodle soups at their finest. We dream about the bowls of creamy paitanbroth, twisty noodles, pulled poultry, dandelion greens, corn, and chili threads. A small menu begs thorough exploration, especially brined-and-fried birds dressed in ginger-scallion oil and served alongside rice drizzled with butter and poultry drippings. Inexpensive.

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Logan Circle.

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.

Kristen Hinman has been editing Washingtonian’s features since 2014. She joined the magazine after editing politics & policy coverage for Bloomberg Businessweek and working as a staff writer for Voice Media Group/Riverfront Times.